


There Was Only One Bed (Theyna)

by Fishy5891



Category: Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Movies), Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Gruniper, I Had To, Jiper, LBGTQIA+ - Freeform, LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQA, Lemon, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Lesbian Sex, Lesbian Thalia Grace, M/M, Mutual Pining, Only One Bed, PJO, Paul / Sally, Pining, Romantic Fluff, Shameless Smut, Smut, Thalia Grace - Freeform, Theyna - Freeform, Tysella - Freeform, Useless Lesbians, Weddings, and there was only one bed, caleo - Freeform, its my favourite, jasper - Freeform, one bed, percabeth, percy and annabeth wedding, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-04 23:36:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16356464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishy5891/pseuds/Fishy5891
Summary: Literally what it says on the tin. Reyna and Thalia go to Percabeth's wedding, and there was Only One Bed.OrReyna did not have the energy to be dealing with shitty hotels, pretty demigods, and the eternal embarrassment she was sure she’d be facing after spending the night with Thalia.





	1. The Hotel

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is only my second fic, so constructive criticism is always welcome, especially if you spot a glaringly obvious typo or an embarrassing grammatical error!
> 
> Once again this contains some strong LGBTQA+ themes, so if you don't like it, I'd highly suggest you don't read it. 
> 
> Reyna and Thalia are my small children and I Love them SO much! Theyna is practically cannon; you can't change my mind. Hope you enjoy what is perhaps my favourite trope of all time (along with Truth or Dare), even if it is highly overused.
> 
> At the moment I'm thinking this is going to be a three or four chapter fic, with smut at the end of Chapter 2 or 3, depending on how I break the story up. Said chapter (or, well, chapters) are already well under way, so hopefully not too long to wait before I can post them!
> 
> UPDATE: Upon re-reading, I realised Chapter 3 has been missing a few paragraphs - I think they got lost when I transferred the story from the word doc to ao3. I've now located these paragraphs and corrected the mistake :)

Reyna followed Nico up the steps, and through into the grand entrance of the hotel. The glass doors creaked open in front of her, reflecting the streetlights and the clouds of a slightly hazy evening. The wheels of her case clattered loudly against the hard, white tiles of the lobby, punctuating the thump of Nico’s heavy boots, and announcing their entrance to anybody who was paying attention. Nobody was.

Reyna scanned the crowd. It was a large lobby, but still a fair proportion was taken by the queue at reception; bags were scattered haphazardly around the loose cluster of people, and poorly-concealed mutters of annoyance filled the air. The receptionists looked bored; nodding and smiling at the rowdy customers, though Reyna was sure they weren’t hearing a word anybody was saying. She thought it served the guests right: from where she stood they sounded rude, impatient, and Reyna was glad she wasn’t the one dealing with them. The too-bright fluorescent lights that hung from the ceiling in long bars on thin wires reflected off the shiny black counters of the reception desk, showering the stark-white vases and glaring red flowers in a stark glow. The gold-gilded picture-frames adorning the walls displayed knock-off city skylines and vague geographical wonders, and overall the hotel gave Reyna an impression of cheap, overproduced class. Annabeth had said it wasn’t the best place to stay, but it was the closest to the venue. “Swings and roundabouts,” she’d summarised, and Reyna had agreed. She was glad Annabeth and Percy were only going to be here one night – they had travel plans after that – but as for herself and the rest of the wedding party, they were unfortunately here for two. Reyna scowled slightly, before turning her gaze to the bar on her left.

A wide arch, which barely partitioned the rooms, did nothing to block the noise. The clatter of glasses on hard surfaces was clearly audible, along with indistinguishable chatter and the occasional rowdy yell. The staff were in green and gold waistcoats with white collard shirts, and the guests drinking in the bar were clearly dressed-to-impress, with faux-fur jackets and outrageous dresses, playing cards and giving off an air of store-bought grandeur. The flutter of cards being dealt, and the sighs of games being lost, invaded the lobby, and Reyna moved away.

She was trying to identify her friends from the rest of the crowd, but she wasn’t having any luck. Reyna sighed. As happy as she was to have been invited to Percy and Annabeth’s wedding, and as much as she’d wanted to support them, it had been _really_ hard not to bail-out and claim Praetor duties to escape. She just wasn’t made for these kinds of social gatherings. A quick coffee with a few of her friends at a time was more her style; only the Gods knew how she was going to handle them all at once. Her breaking point had been when Nico had said he was going to attend. They’d been sipping hot chocolate in Reyna’s favourite café in New Rome, and she'd almost spat out her drink in surprise. Reyna had decided, then and there, that if Nico could get over his aversion of large crowds and social gatherings, then she damn well would too.

A _crash!_ bought her out of her reverie, and, deciding she’d just have to (literally) face the music and get-on with it, Reyna turned her attention to the source of the disturbance. Towards the far wall, near the lounge area, Reyna managed to make out Leo, sprawled across a pile of cases, his curly hair even _more_ unruly than Reyna could ever think possible, and a faint line of smoke coming from his ears. It took Reyna approximately two seconds to do the math (a laughing Piper; an embarrassed looking Jason; a shocked Frank), to work out Leo had undoubtedly been pushed into the presumably previously standing cases, and was therefore responsible for the racket. Smirking to herself and nudging Nico, who grinned back at her, they finally made their way over to their friends.

“Hey! You made it!” Annabeth called, as Reyna approached.

Reyna could see Leo take the hand Piper offered him, both still giggling, and Nico making his way over to Will.

Before she could reply, Reyna was pulled into an enthusiastic hug by the blonde, though the moment somewhat was ruined by Jason and Percy’s bickering.

“See, I _told_ you she’d come!”

“I didn’t say she _wouldn’t!”_

“Oh you so did!”

“No I didn’t-”

“Ok, ok, guys. I’m here; I made it.” Reyna said firmly, returning Annabeth’s embrace and patting Percy on the back. Though their assessment of how close she’d gotten to not coming was rather accurate, she didn’t need them to know that.

Jason just laughed, smiling at Reyna as he swung his arm around Piper. They looked tired. Jason was wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie, and Piper was practically already in pyjamas and ready for bed, what with the leggings, hoodie, and the hot-chocolate she was cradling. She was Annabeth’s Maid of Honour, and Reyna wondered what that was like, planning something as stressful as a wedding for Annabeth. She could only guess, but judging their appearances, she assumed there was a lot of knit-picking, a great deal of trying to keep-up with Percy, and probably more than a little coffee. At least Reyna knew there couldn’t possibly be a better planned event.

Leo seemed unfazed by his earlier… collision, with the cases, and was chatting in depth to Percy about something, looking characteristically jittery. Percy was laughing, though, and Reyna took that as a good sign. As much of a handful as the curly-haired mechanic could be sometimes, he was good at heart, and was very clearly trying to ease Percy’s nerves.

Nico and Will were next to them, and Will was talking to Calypso about something Reyna couldn’t _quite_ catch, though if she had to guess she’d wager on some kind of doctory-stuff. Nico rolled his eyes at a joke Will made and wrapped his arm around the other boy. Reyna smiled. She was glad her friend had finally found somebody. It wasn’t that Reyna thought _everybody_ needed a _somebody_ – she’d successfully ridden herself of that notion after her meeting with Venus all those years back – she was just pleased that Nico was beginning to accept himself more than either of them had ever thought possible. If that wasn’t something to smile about, Reyna didn’t know what was.

Frank and Hazel were chatting amicably, though Frank was looking slightly nervous and seemed to be asking Hazel a million questions. Hazel just laughed, her bushy hair bouncing around her, and looked at Frank like he was her entire world. She was the flower girl, and Frank was one of Percy’s Best Men, along with Leo, Jason, and Grover, who Reyna understood would meet them at breakfast tomorrow. Tyson and Ella, the ring-bearers, would be meeting them at the reception. Nobody had wanted to deal with a Cyclops and a talking Harpy in a hotel, and Reyna was relieved. They were surely drawing enough attention as it was, five children of the Big Three, six other Demigods, and a literal Goddess all in one building.

Reyna had been asking Annabeth polite questions about how she was feeling; whether everything was ready; if she could do anything to help; when she saw Annabeth notice something out of the corner of her eye. Reyna followed her gaze, and her breath hitched.

Thalia was just entering the lobby, a leather jacket hung over one arm, a rucksack over her shoulder, and car keys in her hand. She was wearing her typical black jeans and leather boots ensemble (anybody would think her and Nico co-ordinated outfits), and Reyna absolutely did _not_ notice how good Thalia’s arse looked in those skinny jeans. She sauntered over confidently, a habit Annabeth had once told Reyna Thalia had had even before her experience with the Hunters. She grinned when she saw Reyna, who promptly blushed and cursed under her breath as Thalia tossed the keys to Annabeth, who deftly caught them, as she approached.

“’Sup,” Thalia greeted, popping the ‘p’ as she draped an arm around Reyna.

Reyna tried not to stiffen at the not entirely unwelcome touch, or sink into it completely and make a fool out of herself, and gritted out a friendly ‘hey!’ as she tried not to blush. _Again._

“Got everything from the car?” Annabeth directed at Thalia, who nodded. “Right then,” Annabeth continued, “let’s roll!”

Taking Percy’s hand she shepherded the group towards the elevators, trying not to laugh as Piper nearly tripped, thanks to an entirely innocent looking Leo.

“Don’t we need to check in?” Reyna asked. “Nico and I haven’t been to reception yet.”

“We did it for you,” Annabeth replied, always the planner, before adding as she stepped into the elevator “you’re rooming with Thals, hope that’s alright.” Reyna swore she saw Percy wink at them, the little shit.

Fuck, Reyna thought, before replying “Yeah, cool.” in the most nonchalant voice she could muster as the elevator doors closed, leaving her and Thalia standing in the lobby.

It’s not that Reyna _didn’t_ want to room with Thalia; quite the opposite, in fact. It’s just that she was _already_ going to be driven to distraction by Thalia _all_ weekend, and she was hoping to catch a break in her room. She should’ve just booked the damn place herself, Reyna thought. _And not fallen for your friend_ , her brain added unhelpfully. But _shit_ , it wasn’t _Reyna’s_ fault that Thalia looked hotter than Venus herself, or that she knew how to push Reyna’s buttons so _well_ during her frequent trips to New Rome, or so often rewarded Reyna with a shit-eating grin that made her insides go to mush and caused her brain to stall when she called Thalia out on it. No. That _certainly_ wasn’t Reyna’s fault.

“Stairs?” Thalia asked, looking at the key card. “I think we’re only one flight up.”

“Sounds good,” Reyna murmured, lost in thought.

She tried not to stare at Thalia’s ass as they went up. She didn’t succeed.

“Which number are we, anyway?” Reyna asked as they traipsed along the corridor.

“Uhhh… _this_ one!” Thalia exclaimed triumphantly, as she pulled the card out of the cardboard case.

Unlocking the door, Thalia turned to Reyna and gave her one of those grins.

“Oh, by the way, did Annabeth tell you?”

_Shit shit shit shit this can’t be good shit-_

“Tell me what?” Reyna tried to appear calm.

“There’s only one bed.”

_Fuck._

 

…………………………

 

Fucked, that’s what Reyna was. Absolutely, _thoroughly_ , fucked.

 _Or, at least, she_ wished _she was._

She was in a hotel, hundreds of miles from home, sharing a room with the girl she was hopelessly crushing on, _and there was only one bed_. There was no way Reyna was going to survive this. Not with any dignity intact, anyway. Not with Thalia smirking at her like _that_.

The room had the same colour scheme that seemed to grace most of the hotel: a striped emerald green wallpaper, gilded with glaring gold, adorned the lower half of the walls, complemented by a, thankfully plain, cream paint on the upper half. The bed was almost grotesque in its attempt to be luxurious. An obnoxious collection of cushions were arranged on the four-poster bed, which was, shockingly, green also; only broken by the gold lining of the pillows and the dark wood of the frame. Even the _carpet_ was green, Reyna noticed with disgust. _Why_ they couldn’t have continued with the cream theme, she didn’t know. At the moment, the sterilised white reminiscent of a waiting room sounded more appealing than the forced grandeur of this hotel.

Reyna sighed. She was shattered. She’d had a long day running the camp – she refused to leave it to DaKota for any longer than she’d had to – and by the time Nico had arrived to shadow-travel her to the hotel, she’d wanted nothing more than to sleep. Reyna did _not_ currently have the energy to be dealing with shitty hotels, pretty demigods, and the eternal embarrassment she was sure she’d be facing after spending the night with Thalia.

“So, what are we going to do?” Reyna asked warily. She was trying to sound nonchalant about the situation, but she could already feel a headache brewing. “I could take the sofa?...” she added as an afterthought.

Thalia raised her eyebrows at Reyna in a _are you stupid?_ kind of way, and Reyna followed her gaze to the object in question. It was small; a horrific shade of army green; and there was no way Reyna would manage a comfortable night on it. The prospect of two nights there was dismal.

“I mean, I thought we’d just share the bed, Praetor,” Thalia threw a grin in Reyna’s direction, “unless you’re opposed to sleeping with me?”

Reyna breathed through her nose. Thalia _had_ to be fucking with her, with _those_ choice of words.

 _Quite the bloody opposite_ was what Reyna wanted to say. “Not at all,” she muttered instead, smiling at the huntress – or, _ex_ huntress – as calmly as possible.

“Cool.” Thalia said unaffectedly, and turned to her case, rummaging through and pulling out her pyjamas with a satisfied “ _ah-ha_!”

Reyna located her own nightclothes and, toiletries in hand, she made to retreat to the bathroom. She didn’t get very far. Thalia had started to divest herself of her clothes seemingly without a care that Reyna was still in the room. Thalia was completely exposed, standing dead in the centre of the room, and she was casually undressing herself as if it was no big deal. _Reyna_ thought it was the biggest deal since… well, her brain was too muddled by _Thalia_ and _undressing_ to finish that comparison, but the point still stood. She tried not to stare – really, she _did_ \- though frankly Reyna had lost all ability to see _anything_ other than her roommate since she’d started unbuttoning her jeans. At this point, looking anywhere else might’ve been _literally_ physically impossible, Reyna was so rooted to the spot.

Not trusting herself to make it past Thalia without doing something _really_ stupid, like helping Thalia out of the jeans and onto the bed, Reyna went back to her case under the pretence of rooting around like she was searching for something. From the corner of her eye she could see Thalia _finally_ slip off her jeans, exposing her long legs and taking all the time in the world to fold up the trousers carefully in her case. When Thalia started pulling off her shirt, Reyna could take it no more. It was rude to stare, after all, and she made a dignified – if not hasty – dash to the bathroom. As Reyna closed the door, she just caught Thalia’s back in the mirror. Reyna could see every inch of pale, freckled skin, and her brain made quick deductions about what she would see if Thalia turned around. _If Thalia walked towards her and pulled Reyna so close that she could_ feel _the pale skin and count the freckles on her nose and-_

Splashing herself with cold water and giving herself a moment to breathe, Reyna changed into her pyjamas and finished in the bathroom efficiently, Praetor habits serving her as she went about the routine on autopilot and waited for the heat around her face to dissipate. As she exited the bathroom, Thalia was going through her case. She threw Reyna a grin as she located her toothbrush, and walked to the sink, slightly brushing against Reyna as she did so.

Reyna fought down a blush for the millionth time that evening and, giving herself a stern mental talking to, asked Thalia what side of the bed she wanted.

“Whatever one you’re not using, I guess. Though maybe I _might_ just insist on having your side anyway. _Just_ to be pedantic.” Thalia jibed, toothbrush still in hand, leaning against the doorframe.

Thalia couldn’t have looked more smug if she’d won the bet of the century, Reyna thought, but still the insinuation of being _that_ close did nothing to stop the flutter of her heart. She scowled slightly, before suggesting innocently:

“Perhaps I’ll take the side by the window, then?” Thalia nodded. “Then, if I get _really_ annoyed at you, I can take the sofa after all!” Reyna added, half teasing, tilting her head towards the offending green item by the window. 

Thalia just grinned, quipping “fine by me, _Rey_ ,” as she walked back into the bathroom.

“Don’t call me that.” Reyna deadpanned, glaring at the closed door. Secretly, the nickname might not sound as bad coming from Thalia’s mouth as it did from anybody else’s. Reyna might even _like_ it, the way _Thalia_ says it. Though not even at gunpoint would she ever admit it. _That_ embarrassing detail would follow Reyna to her grave, if it had to.

Sighing, Reyna got into bed and tried to get comfortable. She considered making a barricade of overly-ruffled pillows, creating a _hers and hers_ side of the bed. At least then she might be able to pretend Thalia wasn’t actually there. Shaking her head, Reyna rolled her eyes at herself. That would just be _too_ ridiculous. It wasn’t as if her and Thalia didn’t get along, and friends have platonic sleepovers _all the time_. She was just being stupid over nothing, Reyna decided. Even if Thalia _had_ just walked out the bathroom wearing not much other than an oversized t-shirt. Tearing her eyes away, Reyna tried to think of something to do before Thalia noticed her staring. She spotted the bundle of cushions still on the bed, and grinned.

“Oi!” Thalia yelped, laughing, as one hit her square in the face.

“Oops?” replied Reyna, attempting to feign innocence despite the smirk working its way onto her features, before throwing another one.

This time, Thalia managed to duck.

“Oh, you’ve done it now, Praetor!” she threatened, picking up one of the cushions off the floor and launching herself at Reyna on the bed.

Reyna barely had time to grab one for a shield as Thalia attacked her, Reyna trying to defend herself as they rolled around the bed, attempting to get the upper hand. After a particularly sound _whack_ on Reyna’s midriff that sent Reyna spluttering to the floor, they both collapsed in a fit of laughter.

As they calmed down, Thalia leaned over and held out a hand for Reyna, pulling her back onto the bed. Settling down into the covers, Reyna gave Thalia one last hit with the cushion, albeit far more gentle than earlier, before throwing the last of the pillows onto the floor. Snickering, Thalia gave Reyna a half-hearted shove before rolling over and looking at the time.

“We should get some sleep now,” she stated, and Reyna thought Thalia almost sounded disappointed.

“Yeah. Gotta get up for this _stupid_ wedding.” Reyna agreed, before snapping bolt upright. “Shit, no, wait. That’s. that’s not what I mean. I-” she stammered.

Thalia laughed. “No, you’re right, it _is_ a bit much over nothing,” she agreed. “I swear if it wasn’t Percy and Annabeth’s I wouldn’t be here. I _swear_ the whole thing could be over and done with in ten minutes if there wasn’t such a _fuss_.”

Reyna hummed in agreement.

“Too many damn people at these things, that’s for sure.”

“At least we can get hella drunk though. Just got to get through _mush_ in the ceremony.” Thalia added, pulling face.

Reyna laughed.

“Sit with me and we’ll power through together… assuming you don’t start _crying_ , Grace.” She jibed.

“Grace’s don’t cry, Reyna.” Thalia defended. “But that sounds good to me.”

Reyna tried to supress a sigh of relief. Friends sit together at their friends’ weddings _all the time_. And drink to oblivion at the bar together. And share hotel room beds together. It’s _normal_. _Perfectly_ platonic. Thalia agreeing to sit with her doesn’t mean a _thing_. So why is she suddenly filled with anticipation like a schoolgirl who gets to sit next to her crush in class?

Oblivious to Reyna’s turmoil, Thalia yawns, stretching out like a starfish before settling down and rolling over to face Reyna.

“Night Rey,” she says, fluttering her eyes closed.

“Night,” Reyna replied softly, not bothering to correct her.

Rolling over, she looked at Thalia. The moonlight filtered in through the thin blinds, casting a silvery glow and illuminating Thalia’s face. She must’ve already been asleep; Reyna could make out the gentle rise and fall of the duvet and could hear her steady breathing. She could _almost_ count all the freckles on Thalia’s nose.

Preparing for a long night, Reyna closed her eyes and tried to get to sleep.


	2. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Reyna get ready for the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is finally up! This was originally going to be much longer, but like I said earlier, I decided to split it up into two chapters. If you're here for smut, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the next chapter. I'm hoping it'll be worth it.
> 
> This is sort of a filler chapter, but to be honest I enjoyed writing Reyna interacting with all the other characters. I like exploring her personality, and how it might change or develop after the War. Besides, who doesn't like to drag the pining out for as long as possible?

Reyna sat on the bed in Pipers hotel room, Hazel perched on the end in front of her, half paying attention to the muffled voices of the other girls in the bathroom and half trying to twirl flowers into Hazel’s hair. Piper and Thalia were with Annabeth, sorting-out the dress and getting her to stand _still_ enough to actually get it on. All _Annabeth_ seemed to care about was calling the church and the venue and the caterers and who-knows-who-else to make sure everything was set-up and ready. Reyna didn’t think she could blame her, though. From her outsider’s perspective weddings sounded _incredibly_ stressful to plan, and Reyna was glad she wasn’t going to be responsible for (or, the Gods forbid: be _involved_ in) one anytime soon.

For the moment, she was just grateful that her experience as Praetor kept her calm in these kinds of situations, and that she had remarkably steady hands, or she might just fall into a panic and drop the purple flowers she was trying to twist into Hazel’s curls. The daughter of Hades was busy applying her makeup, having taken instructions from Piper earlier, and, sitting back to admire their handy-work, Reyna could admit that between them they’d done a pretty good job. _Reyna_ thought she looked ready to walk down the aisle, anyway. They’d managed to source some lilac flowers to match those of Annabeth’s bouquet and the petals that Hazel would, in a few hours’ time, be sprinkling down the aisle. Reyna took a deep breath; she suddenly _really_ appreciated why Annabeth was so nervous. It was an important day, after all. Glancing back up at the mirror, though, Hazel gave her a kind smile. The younger girl knew what a big deal this was to Reyna; how much the Praetor usually avoided this kind of socialisation; and had thankfully remained quiet the whole morning, except to brainstorm with Reyna on how they could get the flowers to _stay_ in her hair. They’d managed in the end, and Reyna was surprisingly glad for Hazel’s company. She smiled back, and Hazel made her way across the bed to sit by Reyna’s side.

“Big day, huh?” Hazel stated the obvious, rather serenely, as she played with one of the petals in the basket.

That was what Reyna liked about Hazel, she’d discovered: the girl had a way of talking to people that just made them want to listen and talk back as if it was easiest thing in the world. At some point, Reyna would have to ask for lessons on that.

“Yep.” Reyna drawled. She looked again at Hazel in her dress. “A bit different to practising drills in New Rome, that’s for sure.”

Hazel laughed. “Not any less pressure, though; somehow I’m _more_ worried about messing up here than I am during the war games.” 

Reyna laughed right back. Looking at Hazel, who always seemed so _young_ ; it was often easy to forget just how tough she really was.

“Me, too,” Reyna agreed quietly, before the voices in the bathroom seemed to rise a few octaves. 

She sighed. Though her and Hazel had been doing a pretty good job of running ship, nobody had _really_ been calm since breakfast.

_The alarm had gone off at an unreasonably early time of the morning: Annabeth hadn’t taken any chances on anybody oversleeping. Reyna had awoken first; just before the alarm. She’d found Thalia’s arm around her waist, and her head in the crook of Reyna’s neck, gentle breathing tickling her. Reyna had been facing the other way towards the window - thank the Gods – and she’d been able to carefully extract herself from the embrace. Reyna didn’t know what she would’ve done if she’d been facing Thalia. Probably kissed her, and that simply wasn’t an option. Not now. Not mere hours before the wedding. Not while she still had to share a bed with Thalia for another night. Abruptly, the alarm went off, and Reyna saw Thalia move only to snooze the alarm, and promptly fall back to sleep. Reyna had laughed softly. She was slightly concerned to find that, despite herself, she’d had the best sleep she’d had in months. As Reyna had made her way into the bathroom, Thalia had finally started to wake up. She and Thalia had spent the next twenty minutes groggily waltzing around each-other, getting ready with thankfully minimal chatter. At least they were both equally bad in the mornings._

_They’d struggled down to breakfast to find Annabeth already there with Frank, Hazel, and Grover, who had only just arrived. He’d busied himself chewing empty cans nervously as Percy drowned his pancakes in syrup. By the time she and Thalia had finished dishing up from the breakfast buffet, sporting plates of yoghurt and berries with granola, and waffles in chocolate sauce, respectively, Leo and Calypso had joined the party. Calypso was thankfully a saint in the mornings, even before 9am, and Reyna and Thalia had happily muted-out Leo’s chatter, who apparently didn’t need any coffee to near bounce off the walls._

_The elevator doors had opened just as Reyna had finished her breakfast, revealing the rest of the group. Will and Jason seemed to be talking without a care in the world, throwing cheery smiles at the group and patting Percy on the back. Piper and Nico, on the other hand, had looked like Death personified. Even more so than usual, for Nico. Piper had sat down with her French toast and grumbled about not being a morning person while Nico had reluctantly eaten some toast and pocketed an apple to go. Will had rolled his eyes over his cereal and continued chatting to Jason, who appeared calm, but Reyna could see his leg jittering under the table. She’d smiled; he was getting more Greek by the day. Though perhaps, given that it was his best friend’s Wedding Day, Reyna had figured she wouldn’t give him too much grief about it. Yet._

_By the time breakfast was over and a slightly worrying amount of coffee had been consumed by all parts, the whole group had left to their respective rooms to get dressed. The ceremony wasn’t until 12, but Annabeth had insisted on getting to the church at least half an hour early, in case there was traffic. That left only two hours for everybody to get ready. Reyna wasn’t worried about the boys: between Percy’s excitement, Jason and Franks’ leadership skills, and Will’s patience, she was sure they’d all be ready in no-time. Reyna, on the other hand, had to deal with a still half-asleep Piper; a stressed Annabeth; and everybody’s hair and makeup. She was not holding out much hope._

_Thankfully, Calypso had turned up briefly to don her dress, do her makeup at a speed Reyna assumed could only come from regular practice, and braided her hair into an intricate half-bun. At least that’s one less person to worry about, Reyna had thought, as Calypso had left the room with a smirk on her face and a promise to keep the boys on time. She’d stolen a flower from the bouquet at Annabeth’s request, white to match her cream dress, which was adorned with beautiful pastel flowers and light green leaves. Though technically only Hazel and Piper were Annabeth’s bridesmaids – Annabeth hadn’t wanted a long string of bridesmaids, or for everybody to look the same – she had requested that each of the girls take one of the flowers for their hair. Reyna had already picked a grey one to compliment her outfit, and Thalia had taken a purple one, threatening Annabeth with murder if the bride tried to put it in her hair, but promising to pin it to her dress._ Consider it your wedding gift, _Thalia had joked over breakfast, whilst Annabeth had glared at her good naturedly._

The opening bathroom door caught Reyna’s attention, bringing her back to the present, and Annabeth emerged in her dress. Thank the Gods nobody knew Annabeth better than Piper and Thalia, expect of course Percy, and that they’d managed to work together to keep Annabeth calm and on-track. Apparently, Reyna learned later, only a _little_ charmspeak had been involved. She’d consider that a victory.

The dress, after all that fuss, was gorgeous.

It was plain, and a glossy shade of ivory. There wasn’t a scrap of lace, beading, or glitter in sight, but Annabeth looked sophisticated and elegant. The sleeves were off-the shoulder, barely more than a wide strap each side, and they accentuated Annabeth’s tanned skin and exposed collar-bones. The top was corseted, thinning down to a sharp V at the end of Annabeth’s torso, and the skirt flared out slightly, resting at her ankles. Her shoes, a glittering silver, were on show, and the straps wrapped around her shins like ballet shoes. Reyna could seriously never remember Annabeth ever looking so beautiful. Percy was going to lose his _shit_. Reyna smirked.

“You look amazing!” Hazel yelped, rushing to hug Annabeth, dislodging a flower from her hair.

Reyna chuckled as she picked it up, handing it back to Hazel and going to hug Annabeth herself.

“You’re stunning,” she said smiling, and the blonde grinned back.

“Thanks guys, seriously.” Annabeth returned, hugging them both. 

When she pulled away, Annabeth looked slightly teary. Piper swooped in.

“Oh no you don’t!” Piper warned, steering Annabeth to sit in front of the mirror. “Reyna, would you mind handing me the makeup case please?” 

As Reyna handed her the item, Thalia picked up a few sheets of paper from the bed.

“Apparently,” Thalia started, looking at Reyna pointedly, “we’re in charge of Annie’s hair.”

“Don’t call me that!” Annabeth yelled, before she was shushed by Piper, who was busy trying to apply mascara to the blonde.

“What?” Reyna snapped at the same time. She panicked.

“Piper, I don’t know the first thing about hair!”

“Me neither. That’s why I got the Aphrodite cabin to write it down, see? It’s just a bun.” Piper retaliated offhandedly, rummaging around for the eyeshadow.

It was only a few sheets of paper, Reyna thought, and she’d managed to do something with Hazel’s hair earlier, after all.

“All right,” she sighed, turning to Thalia; “let’s see if we can make this work.”

An hour later and both Piper and Annabeth were ready. Annabeth’s hair was in a delicate low bun, with some curled strands left out to frame her face. They added a few of the cream flowers to the top of the updo, and scattered some silver pins in the rest of the hair. Her makeup was natural; both Annabeth _and_ Piper had never been fans ( _We spent too much time saving the dam world_ , Annabeth had joked), so her and Piper had kept their makeup to a minimum. Piper’s hair was simply clipped back at the front, leaving the rest of the choppy waves down. Her signature small braid had the same silver pins weaved into it as Annabeth, and a single lilac flower placed at the top. Reyna would never admit it, but neither hairstyle had been hard to achieve, and she was proud of them both. As Annabeth clasped a solid silver band around her neck, the centre of it resting just level with her collar-bones, she was finally completely ready. 

Thalia wolf-whistled, and Annabeth swatted her happily.

“Right,” Piper said, grinning, turning around to face Reyna and Thalia. “Now it’s time for you two.” 

Reyna and Thalia groaned simultaneously.

In less than forty minutes, though to Reyna it felt like forever, Piper had transformed them both and shooed them back to their own rooms to get dressed.

“Our taxi got here early, so I think Annabeth wants to leave now.” Piper had said, walking them back to their rooms with instructions on how to correctly touch-up their makeup if they smudged it before the ceremony.

“She wants to go _already?”_ Thalia had exclaimed.

“Pipes, you’ll be there nearly an hour early at this rate.” Reyna had added a little more gently.

“Nerd!” Thalia had snickered quietly. Reyna had shoved her, despite the grin on her face.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” Piper had replied resignedly, rolling her eyes. “But at least we’ll be there. Maybe Annabeth’ll calm down when she sees everything’s set-up properly.”

They’d reached her and Thalia’s room, and Thalia had fished out the key card from the back pocket of her signature black jeans as Piper had said:

“Annabeth said the hotel will call the room when your taxi’s arrived. It might not be for a while; it’s picking up the boys first.”

Reyna had nodded before following Thalia in.

“And don’t forget to collect Will and Nico!” Piper had yelled down the hall.

Reyna had made her way into the bathroom to get changed, leaving the door open a crack so she could still hear Thalia. She carefully pulled her shirt over her head so as not to ruin her hair.

There were a few moments of silence as they shuffled into their clothes.

Reyna’s dress of choice had been picked on a panicked last-minute shop with Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel, only a few weeks before the wedding. It was deep purple, and form-fitting. It zipped at the back – Reyna would have to get Thalia to help her with that later – with a thigh-high slit down one side. Reyna had worried that it wasn’t wedding appropriate, or, worse: too close to the lilac sashes that would be wrapped around Hazel and Piper’s dresses; but they’d all _tsh-tshd_ her fears away and joked about her _definitely_ scoring if she wore it. Reyna had laughed with them and told them to _piss off_ , but something glinting in Annabeth’s eye had made Reyna wonder what the blonde was up to. 

Rolling her eyes at the memory and looking in the mirror to put on her earrings, Reyna finally managed to get a proper look at her hair. Piper had worked magic on it.

Reyna had left it out the braid last night at the daughter of Aphrodite’s request, allowing it to shake-out the waves and fall smooth and flat along her back. She’d felt weird about leaving it down, and Thalia had teased her about it for the better part of breakfast, tugging on it to see how long Reyna’s nerve would hold-out before she punched the daughter of Zeus in the face. Thankfully, breakfast had finished before it’d come to that - Reyna was starting to realise she really _did_ have a soft-spot for the other girl, and she _wasn’t_ happy about it – and instead both her and Thalia had made it to Pipers room without injury, much to Annabeth’s relief. Reyna’s hair had grown long over the years; enough for Piper to manage to curl it into soft waves and it still fall well past her shoulders. They’d tied the top layer into a half pony-tail, hanging low and merging seamlessly into the rest of the hair that was left free to cascade down Reyna’s back. At Reyna’s request Piper had fed braids into part that was tied up: Reyna had felt lost without _some_ kind of plait in her hair, and at least this way _part_ of her hair was pinned away from her face. 

Reyna picked up the grey flower and secured it in her hair. It matched the dark smoky eye Piper had chosen, and complimented the _dark berry_ lipstick that’d been chosen to match Reyna’s dress. Overall, Reyna felt like she might _just_ be ready for the wedding, after all.

“Thals,” Reyna started as she left the bathroom, “could you do my zipper up for me please?”

“Hmm?” Thalia replied from beneath a mountain of dark blue.

Reyna laughed, waiting for Thalia to pull the dress over her head. When Thalia finally managed to free herself from the mountain of cloth, Reyna did a double-take.

Thalia’s dress, unlike Reyna’s, was short, just resting below Thalia’s knees. The tight-fitting top hugged Thalia’s torso, but the skirt flared out slightly, and _swooshed_ around Thalia’s legs gently whenever she moved. It was mesmerising. It was a shade of midnight blue that complimented Thalia’s dark hair, pale skin, and brought-out her electric blue eyes. The dark blue lipstick Thalia had let Piper choose matched the dress perfectly, and the dark eyeshadow and Thalia’s signature eyeliner completed the look. Thalia’s beloved leather boots, that Annabeth had let her wear in thanks for wearing the flower, somehow matched _incredibly_ well with the ensemble, and Reyna was half tempted to ask if Thalia had bought the dress with those shoes in mind. To be honest, Thalia probably had. Even though Thalia was in a _dress_ and they were going to a _wedding_ , Reyna thought Thalia looked as badass as she’d ever seen her. And boy, was Reyna _so_ , _thoroughly, absolutely,_ screwed. 

Once Reyna managed to shut her mouth, which she was sure had been left open as she gaped at Thalia for probably too long, she resumed her request.

“My zip – would you mind?” Reyna twisted her body, motioning to the half-done-up fabric on her back.

“Oh, sure thing!” Thalia replied happily as she walked over.

Reyna could feel Thalia’s breath on her neck, and as the zip went up it left a trail of goose-bumps up Reyna’s spine. Thalia had simply _no_ idea what she did to her.

“All done.” Thalia breathed onto the back of Reyna’s neck, and Reyna tried not to shudder.

“Thanks,” Reyna got-out simply, as Thalia moved away. She tried not to miss the warmth of her presence. 

Reyna looked at the time: there was still at _least_ ten minutes before the taxi was due to get here. Trying to think of a conversation starter that didn’t involve Reyna fucking up and _fucking_ Thalia, she opted for perhaps the second-most controversial option. Sometimes, Reyna really _couldn’t_ help herself.

“Hey,” she started, joining Thalia on the sofa.

Thalia grinned at Reyna as she sat down.

“I feel like a proud mother,” was the last thing Reyna expected to tumble out of Thalia’s mouth, her eyes glittering and whole body vibrating. “She’s getting married, Rey. _Married_!”

Thalia said the last word with awe, as-if she couldn’t quite believe it was happening. In fairness, Reyna supposed that was probably true: you miss a lot of growing up when you spend half your life as a tree and another good chunk an immortal. For Thalia Annabeth really _must_ have grown-up in the blink of an eye.

“It’s crazy.” Reyna agreed, nudging Thalia with her shoulder for comfort. “But also-” Reyna stalled.

“Also?” Thalia prodded, dragging out the word like a question and bumping her shoulder against Reyna’s, encouraging her to continue.

Reyna took a breath.

“Aren’t you a bit… you-know. Upset. That Annabeth chose…” she trailed off again.

“That she chose Piper and not me?” Thalia finished for her.

“Yeah.”

Reyna didn’t know why she’d asked. It wasn’t her business, really, and the Gods knew the _last_ thing anybody needed was for Annabeth and Thalia to fall out _today_ , of all days. But Reyna often had the need to _know_ Thalia. _More_ than she cared to know about anybody else. Apparently, she just had shit timing.

“Nah!” Thalia replied, snapping Reyna out of her thoughts and sounding _genuinely_ cheerful. “You couldn’t’ve paid me _anything_ to wear one of those bridesmaid dresses, that’s for sure, and Annabeth damn knew it!”

Reyna chuckled, Thalia was certainly right about that. The cream dresses were gorgeous, designed to look like traditional Ancient Greek togas, and Piper and Hazel really _did_ look godly in them. But they certainly weren’t Thalia usual style; Reyna stifled a snort at the prospect of Thalia trying to pair it with boots.

“Besides,” Thalia continued, “Annabeth may one of my best friends, but we both know I couldn’t plan a wedding for shit. I’d have the ceremony done in a flash and have all the guests sent to the local bar!”

Reyna really _did_ laugh at that, leaning into Thalia and shaking as they both gripped the sofa for support.

“We both know I’d never put-up with all her bullshit, too. I love Annabeth, but honestly sooner Piper than me.” Thalia finished, smiling at Reyna in a way that made her insides flip.

As the conversation shifted to the other guests at the wedding, and how Camp Jupiter was doing; or how long it would take for a very drunk Leo to set one of the tablecloths on fire tonight, only to end up being drowned by Percy, Reyna tried to pay attention and _not_ get lost in Thalia’s eyes. To _not_ think about the what-if’s or the buts or the maybe’s that whirled around Reyna’s head every time she ended up alone with Thalia.

Because if things were different, Reyna thought, they might _just_ work.

If they weren’t demigods. If they didn’t belong to different camps and live at opposite sides of the country. If Venus hadn’t squashed all Reyna’s hopes of finding love. If they were just _Thalia_ and _Reyna_ and their only care in the world was college or work and how often they got to see each other. If the weight of the world didn’t rest on their shoulders.

If Thalia liked Reyna back.

The hotel phone rang, startling Reyna, and Thalia got up to get it. Reyna sighed as she realised she was sorely missing the warmth of Thalia’s body, and shook herself as she got up too.

“Taxi’s here,” Thalia mouthed silently.

Reyna gathered her bag and her belongings, and made sure her knife was safely sheathed in it’s holster under her dress. Thalia put down the phone and grabbed her own knife, sliding it down into a pocket in the lining of her dress.

Reyna raised her eyebrows.

“I had Leo and Calypso make a few… _adjustments_ to the dress,” Thalia said in answer, winking at her.

“I can tell.” Reyna replied, impressed. “If I’d known that was an option, I would’ve asked them to do something for _me_ as well!”

“Well, next time I’ll hook you up then!” Thalia grinned.

Reyna smiled back, and grabbed the door.

“Shall we?” she asked.

Thalia dramatically mock bowed at Reyna before walking out, and Reyna followed her down to the lobby, resolutely _refusing_ to admire the swing of Thalia’s hips as they made their way to the elevator 

They found Will and Nico already in reception, and Reyna laughed to see that _even now_ Nico still had his aviator jacket on. At least he was wearing a button shirt and a tie. Will flashed a smile at them both, and grabbed Nico’s hand as they walked out the entrance and into the street. Reyna took a deep breath before entering the taxi, and another as she felt Thalia squeeze into the space next to her, body pressed far too close for Reyna’s self-control. She _swore_ she could feel sparks where her and Thalia’s skin touched 

Reyna looked out the taxi window at the blur of New York. It was going to be a _long_ day.


	3. The Wedding (wasn't so bad after all)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our girls finally make it to Percabeth's wedding, and lets just say that weddings, in Reyna's option, might not be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this may or may be nearly 8k words. Whoops. At least you all know why it took me so long to update this time.
> 
> A warning: this is the chapter where the fic got its rating from, so consider yourself warned.
> 
> The epilogue (Chapter 4) is not yet written (or planned), but is a solid idea in my head. What IS planned are essays and deadlines and responsibilities, so patience (for you and me both, here) is key.
> 
> UPDATE: as mentioned in the notes before Chapter 1, this chapter annoyingly lost a few paragraphs when I posted the story. Most upsettingly it lost my favourite line in the entire fic, and therefore some of the dramatics :( But anyway, they're here now, and that's all that matters! Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Update 2: It's accidentally been two months since I've updated this so I've set the story to complete. I still 100% want to write chapter 4, but deadlines and uni work are still coming at me so I unfortunately have to prioritise that.

Reyna leaned up against the counter of the makeshift bar in Camp Half-Blood, twirling her straw around the ice-cubes of her drink absentmindedly, as she watched her friends on the dancefloor. They’d _finally_ dispensed with the cheesy, slow-dance, romance music – Reyna had firmly wanted to die when the mush had extended far beyond the first dance – and they were now playing a plethora of only slightly preferable pop songs.

From her vantage point by the bar, which Chiron had let them have and Mr D had generously stocked, she could see Percy and Annabeth twirling around the dancefloor. They weren’t at all graceful, and the song was _not_ made for slow-dancing. Reyna winced when she saw them occasionally knock into their other guests, or bump into a table, making the drinks left there wobble precariously and threaten to spill. But they looked _happy_ , Reyna thought, grins plastered on their faces and laughter bubbling from the dancefloor. Nobody could possibly be better made for each other than those two, Reyna decided as she stared into her drink, looking up and smiling again as she saw them bump into Grover for the umpteenth time that evening.

The ceremony, after all the fuss of the morning, had been beautiful.

 

*************

 

The four of them had rolled up with 20 minutes to spare before the service began, and across the grounds Reyna had seen Percy chatting to Tyson and Ella as he paced the length of the path. He’d chosen a gorgeous light grey tux – no guessing as to why it was _that_ colour - and a pale blue tie. It was the first time Reyna had seen him wear anything close to formal: Percy thought wearing his obnoxiously orange Camp Half-Blood shirt with jeans and a jacket, rather than shorts, was fancy. He’d _even_ looked like he’d brushed his hair. Reyna’d admitted she’d found him rather endearing. Tyson, whilst not _formally_ dressed, had at least put on a buttoned shirt; Ella had sported a lilac bow tied loosely around her neck. Honestly, Reyna hadn’t been sure what she’d applauded the most: Annabeth and Percy sourcing formal clothes for a _Cyclops_ and a _Harpy_ ; or the fact that Tyson and Ella were actually wearing them. 

As they’d gotten out of the car, Reyna had spotted Jason just walking out the church. He was evidently as keen as Annabeth to get everybody in the right places in plenty time, she’d thought, as she saw him push his glasses back up his nose and go over to Percy, clearly reminding him that he was supposed to be waiting _inside_. Given that Jason had been dealing with a Cyclops, a Harpy, _and_ a Percy who was so nervous the pond in the grounds had thrashed like the sea in a storm, Reyna really hadn’t blamed him for wanting to be prepared. She’d flashed him a reassuring smile as Nico and Will had made their way over, asking where they should sit and offering some help, and Jason had shot one back as he’d ushered his unruly mob back into the church.

Thalia had grabbed Reyna’s hand ( _Reyna absolutely hadn’t blushed_ ) and dragged her down the side of the building, and in through a back entrance that lead to the room the rest of the girls were occupying. They’d found Calypso fussing over Annabeth’s veil, which had been tucked safely in its bag and guarded by Piper, lest it’d gotten lost or crumpled. It was simple, like the dress, and merely clipped to the front of Annabeth’s bun by way of an understated grip. Annabeth had twirled in the full-length mirror, looking herself over critically, before smiling and looking over at the group.

“I guess I’m ready,” she’d said, grabbing her bouquet and taking a deep breath.

“Bloody better be,” Piper quipped, “after all that time I spent on your makeup.”

The group had burst into laughter as Annabeth had thrown a hairbrush at Piper, who’d deftly dodged it and smiled innocently.

“Reckon that’s our cue to go.” Thalia had turned to Reyna.

Nodding, Reyna had shot Annabeth a quick _“good luck!”_ and followed Thalia and Calypso back round to the front of the Church, through the lobby into the main room to find their seats. They’d found Nico and Will in one of the middle rows, and Reyna had slid in next to Thalia _completely and totally unaware of how their thighs were touching_.

Percy had been jittering agitatedly by the alter, before crushing Sally and Paul into a hug as they’d arrived. It was sweet, really, and if Reyna didn’t pride herself on stoic, authoritative reputation, she might’ve teared up. _Maybe_. Turning to Thalia when she’d felt her tapping impatiently at her arm, Reyna had just caught Annabeth’s step-mother and younger brothers walking into the church, moving to sit in the front row next to Sally and Paul.

Then the church doors were opening, and the whole room turned to silence.

For the most part, Reyna had thought the ceremony was over rather quickly, with only a tasteful amount of sap, though she’d distinctly heard Grover sniffling throughout the entirety of the vows. What’d thrown Reyna the most, though, was that it was _Chiron_ who was officiating. How a centaur had managed to obtain a license had been _totally_ beyond her. Given that she believed in literal Ancient Greek and Roman Deities, though, Reyna had thought she’d perhaps let that one slide.

Once they’d slowly filtered out of the church and the obligatory photos had been taken – Leo had taken it upon himself to _help_ the photographer, and for the last ones Percy and Annabeth had even let him write “Leo McShizzle” on his forehead for _old times sake_ , whatever _that_ meant – they’d _finally_ headed out for the meal.

The venue had been around halfway between the church and Camp Half-Blood, where the party would be later, so the rest of Percy and Annabeth’s friends could celebrate safely. The dining hall, though small, had once again been flawlessly decorated. It’d been a gorgeously naturally-lit room, with arched floor-to-ceiling windows half-covered by draping net curtains. Thick white-linen table cloths had hung over the white metal tables adorned with white lace placemats and beautiful crystal glasses. In the centre of each table had sat the cream, grey, and purple flowers, and the green stems seen through the glass vases had brought a pop of colour to the room. The flickering tealights placed in a ring around the flowers had bathed the table in a warm glow.

Percy and Annabeth’s table had been more traditional: a long, oblong wooden structure placed against the wall and draped with a matching fabric to the curtains, littered intermittently with vases and candles. It’d been designed so that the whole party – Percy, Annabeth, their parents and Annabeth’s brothers – could all face towards the centre of the hall. Reyna had found herself seated at a table with Thalia, Nico, and Will, towards the edge of the tables clustered in the middle of the hall.  She’d idly wondered if Percy and Annabeth had purposely sat all the gays at one table, and if so, what the best method to kill them by was. It wasn’t even that Reyna had _minded_ , really. She’d found the whole situation incredibly amusing. She just _always_ revelled in having a reason to scold Percy. Not that he ever seemed to care. Not even those first few days when he’d stumbled into Camp Jupiter and _somehow_ managed to become a Praetor had he flinched at Reyna’s disapproval, and since then it had never failed to make Reyna smile. Inside, of course: she’d never let that slip to Percy, or her reputation might just be ruined.

Speeches were made after dessert, and like most aspects of their lives, the process had been thoroughly unconventional. Percy and Annabeth had mentioned that anybody who wanted to make a speech was welcome to, and after emotional recitals from Sally and Annabeth’s dad, and Paul’s mood-lightened recount of Percy and Annabeth’s antics from a mortal point of view, Jason and Piper had stood up and said a joint few words about their best friends. Chiron had given his _rather emotional_ blessing speech, during which Leo had delivered a few wise-cracks that had the whole room crying with laughter.

Reyna herself obviously hadn’t chosen to say anything. She was fine talking to large crowds, of course, but she’d always felt that in these situations, it was more heartfelt if she delivered her kind words in private. Nico and Will seemed to agree, predictably making no move to make a speech; instead staying put in their seats and smiling at the happy couple. Thalia, on the other hand, had had no such reservations. Scraping the chair back against the polished wooden floor and jumping up enthusiastically, she’d started with an exuberant:

“To the happy couple!”

After the loud whoops and whistles from the gathered guests had died down, she’d continued.

“I guess a quick shout-out to my dearest Annie is in order, for putting up with ol’ Seaweed Brain over here these past few years – the Gods know I couldn’t do it!”

 _That_ had earned glares from the couple in question (that would be threatening if they weren’t smiling) and chuckles from the rest of the group.

“Here’s to many more years of fighting bad-guys, reluctantly pleasing the Gods, and maybe getting some sleep once in a while.” Thalia had paused for effect. “And here’s to _screwing_ prophecies and doing _whatever_ we want. Here’s to love.”

Thalia had looked to Reyna as she finished, holding her gaze as the room around them had erupted into a resounding _cheers!_ and clinking glasses and a cacophony of celebrations. Reyna held the look levelly, lifting her drink up to toast in the vague direction of Percy and Annabeth, without taking her eyes off of Thalia’s.

 

*************

 

Reyna felt, rather than saw, Thalia pull-up a barstool to sit beside her, ordering a whisky at bar as she did so. She seemed to be staring off into nowhere; watching the demigods on the dancefloor with great intensity but seemingly little interest.

“She almost joined the Hunters, you-know.”

Thalia swirled the whisky around in her glass. Reyna didn’t need an explanation to know they were taking about Annabeth. She raised her eyebrows – not that Thalia could see that – and contemplated the concept. She couldn’t _imagine_ Annabeth there. She was tough enough, all right; and smart and determined and dedicated. But still, the idea left Reyna with a sour taste in her mouth. Especially when she thought of _Thalia_ in the Hunters. Reyna hadn’t realised how deep she was in with Thalia until she’d rocked-up to Camp Jupiter with Jason, knocked on the door of Reyna’s villa, declared her freedom; Reyna had had the sudden urge to kiss her.

Shaking herself from the memory, Reyna asked simply:

“Why didn’t she?”

“Percy.”

Thalia replied matter-of-factly, looking at Reyna with an unreadable expression on her face.

Reyna almost flinched at the expression; she could usually read Thalia like a book. It wasn’t like Thalia to try and be cold or mysterious around her.

She could remember earlier this evening…

 _Thalia had just come from dancing with Percy, who’d insisted Thalia come and join him on the dancefloor where some ridiculous upbeat song Reyna had never heard of was playing. Thalia hadn’t wanted to go. She wasn’t as introverted as Reyna, but she_ did _have a reputation to uphold; one held-up by many years of winged eyeliner and leather jackets and_ death to barbie _t-shirts. One held by_ not _dancing like a fool to stupid pop music. But Thalia had relented at Percy’s puppy-dog eyes, and, muttering to Reyna something along the lines of “if I survive this please kill me anyway,” she’d jumped onto the floor and almost outdone Percy on embarrassing dance-moves._

_She’d come back to find Reyna laughing at her from their table, and giving her a death glare, she’d sat down with a:_

_“Yeah yeah, Ramirez._ _Pass me my drink.”_

_They’d been sitting in companionable silence for a few moments when the DJ’s, Travis and Connor Stoll - Reyna didn’t even want to know how they’d managed to convince Annabeth to hire them - had abruptly changed the music to a slow-dance. Reyna had inwardly sighed._

_But then she’d seen Thalia looking at her, a huge grin on her face, and Reyna had locked eyes with her in understanding._

Oh no _, she’d thought, but she’d gotten up anyway and taken Thalia’s hand and blushed_ hard _, and enjoyed the way Thalia’s palm felt in hers._

_The music had been awful. Reyna had spent the vast majority of her younger years either at camp or… elsewhere… and she’d never quite taken a liking to the modern day hits that played on the radio in the mess hall on occasion. She certainly wasn’t a fan of romantic mush, either, and both categories mashed together into one song, that Reyna was being forced to dance to in public, should have been one of Reyna’s worst nightmares._

_Except it hadn’t been. Because Thalia had been there._

_Reyna had perched her hands nervously on Thalia’s shoulders, gripping them slightly in an attempt to ground herself. She didn’t do weddings. She didn’t dance. So for the first few moments the only thing Reyna could do was hold on to Thalia and try not to run for the hills. And then, gradually, she had started to relax. And oh man, had that caused her problems._

_Because when Reyna wasn’t worried about the fact that she was on a dancefloor, she suddenly became hyper-aware that she was on a dancefloor with_ Thalia _. They were an inch apart, and Reyna would’ve taken the opportunity to finally count all of the freckles on Thalia’s nose, if she hadn’t been staring into her eyes instead. Bright blue shot sparks into her deep brown ones, and Reyna couldn’t’ve looked away if she’d wanted too. But that was alright. She hadn’t wanted to. Because if she had, she might’ve looked at Thalia’s mouth instead. She might’ve paid incredibly close attention to how some of the blue lipstick had worn off over the night, leaving parts of Thalia’s lips bare and pink and exposed against the dark paint. Reyna might’ve started to wonder how much_ more _blue might come off if she kissed them. If she kissed Thalia right there right then in the middle of the very crowded pavilion of Camp Half-Blood. And_ then _Reyna might pay attention to other parts of Thalia too, like her neck, or chest, or how close their two bodies were and what it would feel like if they were closer._

 _And that might cause Reyna even_ more _problems. So she’d decided she’d best just keep looking into Thalia’s eyes. It hadn’t been hard._

 _She’d been entranced. Thalia hadn’t broken eye-contact the entire dance. In other circumstances Reyna might have found it weird, and tried to crack a joke to ease the tension; or in another, she might have scoffed at the TV and told the_ useless _characters to_ get a grip _. But Reyna hadn’t wanted to get a grip. She hadn’t wanted to look away. Because the way Thalia had looked at her as they floated along the dancefloor to that_ awful _music had done all kinds of things to Reyna’s body. And all kinds of things to her mind. It’d got her thinking. Hoping. Believing._

_“Maybe this could work.”_

_“Maybe this might just be alright.”_

But that had been an hour ago.

_The song had finished. People had made their way back to their tables or their partners or their drinks, and Reyna had had to face reality once more. She'd smiled at Thalia, mentioned something about getting a drink, and she hadn't moved from her spot at the bar since. Reyna had spent her time swirling the clear liquid around in the small tumbler glass, staring vacantly at the scene in front of her, and making polite conversation to those that stopped to greet her on their way._

On the dancefloor, Reyna had almost allowed herself to think that Thalia looked disappointed as she left. Had allowed herself to think that her and Thalia  _might_ be something more. Had allowed herself to put her guard down and enjoy herself, and the only place it had got her was the bar. _Because there was_ _no_ way Thalia felt the same way as she did, Reyna thought darkly. Now way on this planet that Thalia wanted to give-up her days in Camp Half-Blood and move her entire life to New Rome for  _Reyna_. She would never ask Thalia to do that, because Reyna knew she couldn't leave New Rome for  _her_. Not yet, at least. Not that it mattered. It's not like Reyna would ever get the chance to put that to the test, anyway.

So Reyna continued to swirl her warming drink around the now melting ice-cubes, and tried not to lament over the w _hat-if's_ and the  _but's_. But that was hard, when Thalia Grace was sat  _right_ next to Reyna, staring at her glass with a dark look on her face.

If Reyna was romantic, she'd say she wanted to kiss that look right off Thalia's face. It was a good job Reyna was practical, then.

And then Thalia sighed, a sad expression replacing the confident and assertive one that normally graced the daughter of Zeus. She looked at Reyna again, those piercing eyes once more holding Reyna’s attention and making every nerve on her body vibrate, and downed her drink, setting it back on the counter with a quiet, but firm, clink.

“What do you want, Reyna?”

Thalia asked it calmly; carefully. There was no expression in the question. No room left for misinterpretation. No room for Reyna to avoid the question. The meaning should’ve been ambiguous, given out of context like this - Reyna didn’t have access to Thalia’s inner thoughts. But Reyna wasn’t coy, or one to toy with other people’s emotions.

So she answered the question.

"I want you to fuck me."

Reyna let it hang in the air as she took a swig of her drink.

They weren't drunk, really. There wasn't any excuse for Reyna to have said what she just had. She wasn't sure what she'd been thinking.

Except she  _was._

She had been thinking about _her_ and _Thalia_ and earlier today on the dancefloor; and last night during the pillow fight; and last month during capture the flag; and all that time ago during the war with Gaea. Reyna had been thinking about _her_ and _Thalia_ and how great they felt together and how _good_ Reyna would look on her and why the _hell_ Reyna hadn’t made a move yet. Fuck logistics and prophecies. Frankly, Reyna had just about had enough.

“What?” Thalia replied finally, looking like she’d just been slapped.

Reyna downed her drink as well. This was happening.

“I want you to fuck me. And kiss me. _Properly_. I want you to pretend with me for one _fucking_ minute that you like me like that. Pretend with me that we’re normal fucking people in a normal _fucking_ relationship and not messed-up demigods, and that things could possibly _work_ for us for once.”

 Reyna took a deep breath after the outburst, and looked up at Thalia, holding eye-contact; again. If things didn’t go well, she could at least take a shot for every time Thalia had held her in intense eye-contact this weekend, and black-out.

The expression on Thalia’s face was unreadable; calculating. Reyna was sure she’d ruined everything, but she was no coward. She would stay here, stand her ground, and face Thalia’s reaction no matter the outcome. But she was beginning to fear the worst. She was just contemplating _how_ bad a night on the sofa could possibly be, or if Nico was still sober enough to shadow-travel straight back to Camp Jupiter, when suddenly Thalia lurched forward and grabbed Reyna’s face in her hands.

And then Thalia was kissing her.

For a moment, Reyna forgot how to move; how to breathe; how to _think_. She forgot what her own name was. But then she was tangling her hands in Thalia’s short hair and kissing her back like her life depended on it.

Their position, from the way they’d been sitting, was awkward. Thalia looked like she was about to fall off the chair she was straddling, and Reyna was bent over awkwardly trying to get down to Thalia’s height. Not that she was really complaining. Reyna would’ve loved to say that Thalia tasted of _chocolate_ or _berries_ or something equally romantic and untrue, but in reality Thalia tasted like whisky and Reyna probably tasted like vodka and honestly, she wouldn’t ever change a thing.

Except maybe to break apart for air – which Reyna was sure at this point was optional – and pull Thalia up to exchange a breathy laugh, both their chests heaving, before Reyna pulled her back in again. She felt electric; and so what if maybe Thalia actually _was?_ Reyna could feel the prickle everywhere Thalia touched her: indents on her arm; a tingle on her lips; shivers up her spine; and Reyna didn’t know what to do with herself, except wrap her arms around Thalia’s waist, clutching her iconic leather jacket, and attempt to mould herself completely into Thalia.

The second time they paused for air, Thalia looked at Reyna with a dopey grin on her face, and Reyna decided she liked that perhaps even _more_ than her signature smirk. More so because _she_ herself was the cause of it.

“Fuck.” Thalia breathed, always eloquent.

“Uh huh.” Reyna replied. She wasn’t feeling much like words either.

There was a slight pause, but Reyna was comfortable, perched less than an inch from Reyna, reeling from their kiss. She was in no hurry to move.

“So…” Thalia resumed her usual sarcastic demeanour, shifting her weight to one hip and folding her arms over her chest. “You want me to fuck you?”

Reyna straightened up and smirked. She wasn’t fazed. She knew this game; she knew _them._

“You offering?”

Thalia laughed, long and loud, before grinning at Reyna.

“Definitely.”

Then Thalia kissed her again – Reyna was beginning to feel giddy – and grabbed her hand.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

Reyna let herself be pulled onto the dancefloor, where they found Percy and Annabeth, Reyna gripping Thalia’s hand tightly. If Percy and Annabeth noticed their smudged makeup and intertwined hands, they didn’t say anything, only hugging each of them tightly and accepting their congratulations and good-bye’s with beams and even _tighter_ hugs. Then her and Thalia were walking out of pavilion, through camp, past the tree that still held the Golden Fleece ( _and had once held Thalia; Reyna looked at it darkly and squeezed Thalia’s hand_ ), through the forest, and onto the main road.

They hailed a taxi and headed back to the hotel. To their hotel room. To their Only One Bed that last night had seemed like such a _problem_ to Reyna but was now suddenly full of possibilities. Possibilities that Reyna hoped to every God she knew weren’t only limited to one night. Reyna was trying to work out again why they’d all booked the hotel for two nights, rather than staying at Camp Half-Blood, but Thalia’s hands roaming up and down her sides and her mouth pressed firmly against hers in the back of the cab made thinking rather difficult for Reyna. It might’ve been because Camp only had single beds, and shared cabins, and everybody had wanted some privacy. Probably. Reyna pressed her mouth against Thalia’s neck, causing a low moan to emit from the daughter of Zeus, and Reyna decided that if _that_ was the reason they were staying in this Gods awful hotel, it was an explanation she could totally get behind.

The taxi stopped outside the hotel, and Reyna regained enough sensibility to count out the fare before jogging up the front steps to meet Thalia, who was keeping the door open for her. Reyna grabbed Thalia’s outstretched hand and pulled her through the lobby, temporarily being blinded by the fluorescent lights, and up the stairs to their hotel room.

Reyna had briefly considered taking the lift, imagining being pushed up against the wall in the tiny little box and having Thalia’s hands and mouth and body pressed _all_ over her. But then she remembered they were only one flight up, and the doors would be opening no sooner than they’d got in, and that she wouldn’t she wouldn’t be able to ogle at Thalia’s ass if they didn’t go up the stairs.

As Thalia fumbled for their hotel key Reyna took the opportunity to pin her against the door, back against the wooden panel and body pressed impossibly close to Reyna’s. For a second Thalia stilled in surprise, and then one hand was tangled into Reyna’s hair and the other placed firmly on her lower back, tugging Reyna ever closer. Reyna lost herself in the feel of Thalia’s lips, and her own hands pressed against Thalia’s stomach, palms feeling the soft _thin_ material of her dress. Eventually – and Reyna didn’t know _where_ Thalia found the brain power – the key-card was retrieved and slotted into the reader, and Thalia manoeuvred the door handle behind her one-handed; the other was still possessively wrapped around Reyna’s body. The door flung open, and if it wasn’t for years of demigod training and honed reflexes, Reyna was pretty sure they would’ve fallen flat on the floor. As it was, they stumbled back into the room until they were facing opposite each other, less than a foot apart, the door clicking softly shut behind them.

Reyna was breathing hard. She could feel her chest rising and falling, and the slight tremble of her hands as they rested by her side. Thalia’s hair looked a mess; even more tousled and unruly than Percy’s after a day at the lake. Her blue lipstick was smeared across her face, and Reyna was pretty sure she saw some purple smudged there too. The silence was immense. It was as-if the whole of New York was still. The _world_ was, to Reyna. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and for the millionth time that evening her eyes seemed to be locked onto Thalia’s. Dark brown onto light blue.

Reyna took a tentative step forward. She couldn’t think of anything to say – what even _did_ you say when the person you’re interested in suddenly seems interested in you too and you’re _this_ close to getting what you thought was only possible in fantasies. How do you _not_ fuck that up?

So she settled for a simple “hey” as she gently took one of Thalia’s hands in hers.

Thalia chuckled.

“Hey,” she said back, grinning softly, squeezing Reyna’s hand gently.

“So: what next?”

If Reyna thought she’d been nervous before, she was almost trembling now. There was a reason she was careful never to get herself into awkward situations.

“Well.” Thalia started, looking smug. “I do believe someone suggested I fuck them.”

Reyna smiled a little. Thalia always was a cocky little shit.

“Did they, now?” Reyna hummed, feigning innocence.

“Oh yes. I thought it was fine idea, too.”

Thalia grabbed Reyna’s other hand, lacing their fingers together.

“I almost suggested it myself, but they must’ve beat me to it.” Thalia added, grinning wickedly.

Reyna laughed. From the way Thalia had kissed her in the taxi, Reyna had been pretty certain she’d gotten the right idea. No harm in hearing it confirmed though, she thought, as she leaned her head on Thalia’s shoulder.

“Right then.” Reyna started. “So we should-”

She trailed off. Partly because she wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, and partly because Thalia’s lips had reached Reyna’s neck, and all thoughts completely left Reyna’s brain.

“Get ready for bed.” Thalia finished into Reyna’s shoulder.

Thalia moved away, slowly, crossing the room to rummage around her bag, and Reyna figured she’d follow her lead. The dress was _really_ starting to irritate her and at this point - she wanted nothing more than her pyjamas… and maybe Thalia also, but that wasn’t the point. Reyna was just walking into the bathroom when she remembered the zip. The one at the back of her dress. The one she couldn’t reach by herself. _Ah._

Reyna took a breath. She didn’t know why she was struggling so much to communicate this evening. Maybe it was the vodka. Yeah; she’d blame it on that. She walked over to Thalia and motioned to the back of her dress.

“Could you. Uhh… the zip. Undo it? Please.”

“Oh shit, yeah!”

Thalia grinned at Reyna and confidently sauntered behind her. Reyna rolled her eyes.

For the second time that night, Thalia’s breath warmed the back of Reyna’s neck; only _this_ time Thalia wrapped an arm securely around Reyna’s middle, palm resting on her hip, as she slowly undid the zip. Reyna was half temped to turn around and kiss Thalia right then _right there_ and see what else happened – the risk of her dress falling off be damned. But then Thalia was moving her arm and Reyna realised the zip had only been undone halfway - just enough so that Reyna could get to it herself - and she thought maybe the daughter of Zeus was more chivalrous than she let on.

Thalia placed a quick kiss to the back of Reyna’s head, and Reyna thought of all the kisses they’d shared that evening, _that_ was the one most likely to make her knees weak and result in her falling into a useless puddle on the floor.

Mentally brushing herself off as Thalia went over to her case again, Reyna collected her makeup bag and walked into the bathroom with a sizeable pit in her stomach. She methodically removed all traces of Piper’s handiwork (and, well, _Thalia’s,_ too, judging by the purple shadow around her mouth and the blue smudge on her neck), and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Blinking a few times to ground herself, she idly wondered if it was even _worth_ putting her pyjamas on, given that in a few moments they were likely to be coming off. She shrugged at the mirror. Reyna would just do what she did _every_ night. And if it was wrong; well: it wasn’t like there were _rules_ for this kind of thing.

She emerged from the bathroom to find Thalia in – again – a simple oversized shirt. _And probably not much else_. Reyna was beginning to feel a bit inadequate in her sensible cotton button shirt and matching trousers. But then Thalia threw a cushion at Reyna (which, for the record, she deftly dodged), and then she was thinking of nothing but sweet, _sweet_ revenge. Reyna picked up the pillow and marched over the bed, slamming the cushion onto a laughing Thalia.

Thalia grabbed Reyna and rolled her over onto the bed, pinning her down and grabbing her wrists. The laughter died in Reyna’s throat as she felt Thalia’s weight against her; both of them stretched out on the mattress. There was nowhere to hide. But Reyna was done hiding.

She craned her neck up slightly, and gently pressed her lips against Thalia’s, the pillow previously clutched in her hands falling and rolling off the edge of the bed. Thalia let-out a muffled _oh_ and released Reyna’s wrists. Using one arm to hold herself up, she dragged the other along Reyna’s torso and under her shirt. Reyna shivered, and kissed back harder, tangling her hands into Thalia’s hair. One moved to the nape of Thalia’s neck, playing with the short strands of hair there, and Thalia shuddered. She pressed her tongue into Reyna’s mouth, deepening the kiss and holding Reyna tightly and pressing firmly against her. Reyna was starting to feel dizzy; and she didn’t think it had anything to do with the lack of oxygen. Thalia’s free hand resumed its roaming, tracing Reyna’s middle and up to her chest, barely brushing the fabric there before dipping back down and threatening to move under her trousers. Reyna moaned and, reluctantly detaching her mouth from Thalia’s, placed open-mouthed kisses down the column of Thalia’s neck all the way to her collarbone. She traced the outline of the bone with her lips, barely touching there; teasing. Thalia squirmed, and began tugging at Reyna’s shirt buttons.

Reyna felt fidgety; there was too much fabric between them. Thalia had moved her legs forward, knees level with Thalia’s hips, and it was becoming harder and harder not to think about Thalia _without_ all those clothes on. Images began to flash through Reyna’s mind: _Thalia’s hair ruffled and damp after training. Thalia undressing in the middle of the room. Thalia wrapped in just a towel after a shower this morning. Thalia in an oversized shirt and nothing else. Thalia-_

The daughter of Zeus let out a frustrated whine when Reyna’s shirt didn’t come undone, though Reyna wasn’t sure what Thalia'd been expecting, using only one hand.

Reyna let out a soft laugh and pressed a chaste kiss on Thalia’s lips, moving both her hands to Thalia’s shoulders, pushing back slightly so they could both awkwardly sit-up, Thalia straddling Reyna.

“Fuck.” Reyna gritted as Thalia’s weight rested on her, creating a friction and heat that Reyna was rapidly becoming aware of.

Thalia gave her a questioning look.

“My clothes – I’m taking them off.”

A look of understanding came over Thalia as Reyna got off the bed. Reyna unbuttoned her shirt and folded it carefully, placing it on top of her case. She was about to take off her trousers when she realised Thalia wasn’t moving.

“Yours too!” Reyna chided, rolling her eyes as she finished undressing and placing everything neatly inside her bag, before taking a breath and turning back round to Thalia.

Reyna managed to look just in time to see the shirt being flung halfway across the room, and she rolled her eyes at the other girl, who grinned at Reyna like a Cheshire cat. Reyna walked over and kissed her, not sure what else to do given that her heart was pounding in her chest and she was in danger of staring at a near clothes-less Thalia and embarrassing herself, if she didn’t do _something right_ now.

Thalia’s hands moved to Reyna’s _bare_ hips, leaving trails of goosebumps where they ran up and down her torso. Reyna wrapped one arm around Thalia’s neck, and the other to rest on Thalia’s shoulder. She dragged her palm down to the dip caused by her collar-bones, and Reyna couldn’t resist moving to kiss Thalia there. They were both breathing heavily now, chests rising and falling as their hands stilled. Reyna felt warm despite the open window and the chill of the evening, and she didn’t resist when Thalia unhooked her bra and pushed her back down onto the bed.

Reyna reached up behind Thalia to take off hers, too. And, after a moment of deliberation, removed her own underwear as well, Thalia copying Reyna’s motions.

Reyna cupped Thalia’s cheek in her hand, looking up at her, and enjoyed the fact that this time _she_ was the one holding the eye-contact, rather than being lost in it. Thalia bent down and pressed her soft lips on Reyna’s, and her heart stuttered. Reyna would never get used to it, she didn’t think: the ease with which Thalia kissed her. So _effortlessly._ Like it didn’t make Reyna’s heart leap to her throat or cause her brain to stall or send her body into _(a good kind of)_ turmoil every time.

Reyna was also becoming increasingly aware of the fact that their bodies were being pressed together, and that Thalia’s roaming hands had moved to her chest, moulding the soft flesh there. Reyna’s moans were swallowed in the kiss, but she could still feel Thalia smiling against her mouth. Thalia proceeded to press kisses down Reyna’s neck, leaving a trail of heat on Reyna’s body, through the valley of her chest and down to her belly-button, and back up again. When Thalia pressed her mouth to the top of one of Reyna’s breasts, Reyna’s whole body arched upwards as she let-out a string of profanities in Latin. Thalia snickered, but quickly shut up when Reyna brushed her hands down along Thalia’s body and grabbed her ass.

Thalia continued back down the length of Reyna’s body, hands following her mouth until she reached the inside of Reyna’s thighs. She paused to smirk at Reyna _(who swore Thalia had never looked better, but would vehemently deny it if asked)_ before placing her hands on the centre of Reyna’s thighs and kissing up the inside of her leg, reaching the sensitive skin right at the centre. Reyna’s breathing hitched, and she could feel Thalia’s breath _on_ her, paused right where the pool of heat was building in Reyna. Right where she _desperately_ wanted Thalia to be.

But Reyna needed to focus. Thalia was looking up at her again. She was asking a question, Reyna realised through the fog of her brain trying to work out why Thalia had stopped.

“This ok?” Thalia asked.

“Won’t be if you don’t get a move on.” Reyna quipped. But she said with a grin – the best she could muster when her body was screaming _more_ but her brain was trying to sternly remind her that she really _really_ liked Thalia, and should probably not push this too much and ruin everything.

But as ever Thalia had far less reservations than Reyna did. She was starting to think Thalia could hear her thoughts, the way she always seemed to respond to Reyna like she was an open book; an easy read on a Sunday afternoon. But that didn’t matter. Because Thalia’s tongue was _on_ her. Reyna forgot how to breathe for a solid minute, she reckoned, because when she finally let out the breath she was holding, the air came out in a sudden _whoosh_ and then refused to enter back into her lungs altogether.

Reyna didn’t have a comparison for the way Thalia’s tongue felt on (or _in?_ ) her. Reyna could only squirm and mutter expletives in Latin and clutch at the soft locks of Thalia’s spiky hair. Thalia’s grip on Reyna’s legs would probably bruise. But that was irrelevant, Reyna decided. A small price to pay for the feeling of Thalia’s mouth on her, licking the soft folds and entering _inside_ her until Reyna was _sure_ she was going to come undone. She was pretty certain she might die, actually, the way this felt. She was probably dreaming, because there was no way reality could feel _this_ good.

The heat burning through Reyna was intensifying now, pooling between her legs. She was positively writhing underneath Thalia, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to last. Everything about Reyna felt hot. The whole of her was on fire and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad; except that Thalia was the one making her feel like this, so it couldn’t _possibly_ be wrong. Not with the way Thalia’s tongue had begun to focus on her clit, applying pressure and moving in fast strokes; or the way one hand had reached up to Reyna’s breasts, teasingly _just_ brushing over one before taking the other into firmly into her hand and squeezing with delicious pressure.

Things were starting get to blurry. Reyna was clutching the bedsheets, and she reckoned she’d been constantly swearing for the past minute. Her head was ringing and she felt like her whole middle was coiling and all she was aware of was Thalia’s mouth and Thalia’s hand and then Reyna was yelling, and ordinarily Reyna would’ve cringed and sworn to never get herself into this kind of position again. But this wasn’t an ordinary situation and Thalia and Reyna were having _sex_ and Thalia’s _other_ hand had moved from Reyna’s leg to brush at Reyna’s folds and Reyna barely had time to yell a warning before the coil snapped, and Reyna was coming.

She hardly registered Thalia kissing her way back up Thalia’s side until Thalia’s face was next to Reyna’s, pale and beautiful and freckled and despite Reyna firmly believing she might never be able to move from this bed ever again she felt so boneless, she couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to Thalia’s soft lips.

“Good?” Thalia waggled her eyebrows suggestively, teasing Reyna into paying her a compliment, a game they often played when Thalia followed Reyna around New Rome when Reyna was _supposed_ to be doing Praetor duties and Thalia was proving to be good company, but woefully distracting.

Reyna half-heartedly wacked her on the shoulder with one arm, before muttering a _“fuck_ , Grace” and kissing her again.

Thalia laughed and kissed back, slowly and lazily, and full of promise. But Reyna tried not to think too much about that bit. She sighed contentedly, snuggling down next to Reyna and wrapping an arm around her. And Reyna almost succumbed to sleep, except Thalia was still placing light kisses along Reyna’s jaw and trailing patterns around her hip and whilst Reyna was _thoroughly_ satisfied to have been fucked _by_ Thalia, Reyna hadn’t forgotten her previous intention of doing the same to _her._

Reyna rolled over so that _she_ was the one pinning Reyna down, grinning when Thalia’s eyes went wide. It took a lot surprise the previous lieutenant of the Hunters. It was silly of Thalia, really, to think Reyna wouldn’t give as good as she got. She was no pushover, as their annual training sessions in Camp Jupiter had taught them both. They kept a running total of who was winning, and it was _anybody’s_ guess who was going to be the victor. Or when they’d stop counting…

Reyna started small, with the parts of Thalia she knew. She kissed Thalia’s freckled nose; those pale, blushing cheeks; the soft lips and the hollow of her neck. Reyna brought one hand up to caress Thalia’s shoulder as she kissed the other; branching into new territory as she dipped blow the collar-bones, sliding her hand back down to the curve above Thalia’s hip as she experimentally placed her mouth onto one of Thalia’s breasts. When Thalia swore, _loudly_ , and jerked beneath Reyna, she did it again; moving her tongue in slow, experimental circles until Thalia’s breath was coming out in short, ragged gaps. Reyna paid a lot of attention to the rest of Thalia’s middle: kissing; feeling; holding; trying to etch everything to memory. She felt Thalia’s racing pulse when she kissed up the centre of her chest; heard her gasps when Reyna touched or kissed or _just missed_ her breasts; felt her relax and tense alternately as Reyna teasing moved her mouth downwards and back up again, hands moving all over Thalia with a mind of their own and an agenda Reyna hadn’t realised they had.

It wasn’t until Thalia ground-out a strangled _“fuck”_ when Reyna kissed the inside of her thigh that the reality of what was happening really _hit_ Reyna.

She stopped. Reyna didn’t know what to do. She’d _thought_ about it, sure. Thought about her and Thalia in this position _a lot,_ actually. And it’s not like she was as innocent or as much of a prude as everyone seemed to think she was, either. But that didn’t mean Reyna had any _practical_ experience, or much of an idea of what to do now that she was _here_. Reyna cursed inwardly. She was probably making a fool of herself, deliberating like this.

“Reyna, we don’t have-”

Thalia didn’t get to finish the sentence. Reyna realised she was being ridiculous. This was _Thalia_. This girl had seen Reyna at her worst in Puerto-Rico; relaxed in a cosy café in New Rome; and during war games in Camp Half-Blood. She’d insulted Reyna’s taste in books and stolen jellybeans out of the jar in her kitchen and had _survived_. Reyna wasn’t sure what was going to happen after tonight. But she liked Thalia. A _lot_. And by the Gods Reyna was determined to not overthink what was quite possibly the best night of her life.

She placed her hands back on Thalia’s upper thighs, and resumed her kissing there. Thalia promptly shut-up, and made an _“ooohhh”_ sound when Reyna tentatively placed her tongue against Thalia, licking up towards her clit. Reyna stayed there, making lazy circles with her tongue or repeatedly making a stipe up and down Thalia’s centre. When Reyna placed her tongue carefully in Thalia’s entrance, shivers shot up her spine at the sounds Thalia made and the memory of how it felt when Thalia had done that to _her_. She let her hands continue to wander Thalia’s body, smoothing over her pale skin and grazing her nails gently down Thalia’s leg or squeezing the curve of the arse Reyna had admired from afar more times than she’d ever admit aloud.

Reyna picked up the pace with her mouth, enjoying the feeling of Thalia writhing beneath her, trying to increase the friction. Thalia made a strangled sound when Reyna removed her tongue all-together, but when Reyna gently teased her entrance with a finger Thalia yelled in what Reyna could only assume was Greek, and she took it as a good sign.

She entered slowly, not really sure what she was doing, but Thalia almost bucked off the bed, and Reyna almost laughed with the absurdity of it all, increasing the pace. She kissed around Thalia’s pelvis and ran her hands along Thalia’s body and tried to focus on what she was doing and not getting lost in the way Thalia was chanting her name. Reyna moved her mouth back down again to Thalia’s clit, a bit rougher this time round, moving in sharper and faster circles.

Thalia felt like she was vibrating now, shaking and squirming and tangling her hands in Reyna’s positively _ruined_ hair, yelling and grinding down against her until her entire body froze, and Thalia murmured a pitiful moan.

She tugged at Reyna’s hair, pulling her up the bed to place her mouth against Reyna’s and kiss her so soundly Reyna really thought she might never see air again, not that that was problem.

“Fuck.” Thalia repeated Reyna’s earlier statement without a trace of sarcasm.

And Reyna laughed at Thalia’s ability to form words, like Thalia had laughed at Reyna earlier, and for once everything around Reyna felt _right_.

 ***

“You-know, Rey,” Thalia said quietly, as they drifted into sleep and all they could hear was the gentle rustling of the curtains against the open window and the soothing background noise of New York.

“Hmm?”

Reyna had her eyes closed; one hand wrapped around Thalia’s waist, the other tucked safely underneath her head.

“I think I could pretend with you for more than just a minute.”

Thalia shuffled up to tilt her head up at Reyna, bright blue eyes boring into hers.

“Yeah?” Reyna’s heart felt like it had stopped.

“Yeah.” Thalia replied, a stupid grin on her face.

Reyna smiled then, too, and rolled over to face Thalia.

“Good,” she said simply.

Reyna tugged Thalia slightly closer, and listened as the girls gentle breathing became steady and relaxed. Reyna counted all the freckles on Thalia’s nose. Perhaps weddings weren’t so bad, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr as procrastination-is-my-occupation, and check out my ao3 profile for my other Theyna works.


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